Deputies: Pair Steals CDs, Finds Child Porn

Sheriff's Department: Delhi Man Had Reported Burglary

When two people broke into a Delhi man's barn and stole what they thought were blank CDs, the property owner reported the incident to Merced County sheriff's deputies -- who, after investigating, sent detectives to arrest him when they discovered those discs were filled with child pornography, deputies said.

Kraig Stockard, 54, said he had several items stolen from his barn Sept. 12, according to the news release issued Tuesday by the Merced County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies said a juvenile and a 19-year-old who broke in and stole the CDs -- about 50 of them, thinking they were blank -- and later brought them home.

When the pair asked a family member to upload some music onto the discs, the relative popped in one of the CDs and discovered the child pornography, deputies said.

The finding prompted the pair to contact the Sheriff's Department and explain the situation, according to the news release. Deputies then checked all the stolen CDs and found more than 30 of them contained child porn images, they said.

Merced sheriff's detectives paired with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the High Tech Crimes Task Force to serve a search warrant in the 13000 block of El Capitan Way, where Stockard lives, according to deputies.

Once inside the property, officials took three computers, three laptops and several external hard drives, the release says.

Investigators said they aren't sure yet how much child pornography Stockard had in his possession but said on his CDs alone they found thousands of photos and videos.

The Sheriff's Department said Stockard has admitted to possessing the porn, which officials say he has been downloading since 2004.

Stockard posted $25,000 bond and will face child pornography charges.

The burglary suspects' case was sent to the District Attorney's Office. They were not arrested.